Short Interest in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Decreases By 20.1%

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 324,400 shares, a drop of 20.1% from the January 31st total of 405,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 233,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.50. 338,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 234,962. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.26. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is 40.94%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 3,889.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,377,823 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,092,101,000 after buying an additional 26,691,490 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at about $23,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,014,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in First Merchants by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,133,000 after purchasing an additional 332,168 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth about $9,107,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.